


Pillars of Salt and Pillars of Sand

by little_sleeping_dragon



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, F/F, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 08:38:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5736928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_sleeping_dragon/pseuds/little_sleeping_dragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria starts to rebuild.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pillars of Salt and Pillars of Sand

**Author's Note:**

> This is my Marvel FemSlash Holiday exchange for cptpeggy on tumblr. (Sorry this is so late!)
> 
> Title from Vida la Vida by Coldplay.

Maria Hill really hated Congress. Well, she really just hated not being a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. Honestly, there had never really been a reason to deal with them back when S.H.I.E.L.D. existed. Sure there were plenty of times when something S.H.I.E.L.D. did pissed off the United States, but when that happened Maria usually just had to deal with the president. Which was so much simpler. Maria could deal with one bureaucratic idiot, but 500 of them? Not happening. Except here she was, standing in front of Congress, explaining every one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s procedures and operations. Maria Hill really hates Hydra. 

Natasha Romanoff really hated reporters. She missed the days when nobody knew who she was. Then aliens invaded New York and suddenly everybody knew her face. Undercover work became impossible after that, but this was so much worse. Whereas before people just knew her face, now they know her name, and even worse, her past. And so here she was, trying to avoid a swarm of reporters who all want to ask her questions. Natasha Romanoff really hates Hydra.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Natasha whirls around, gun in hand as she hears a footstep from the kitchen. She turns the corner and turns to face the intruder.  
“Don’t shoot! It’s just me.” A voice calls from the kitchen table. Former Assistant Director Maria Hill is sitting in one of the chairs. She has her head in her hands and Natasha can see the tension in her shoulders.  
“What the hell are you doing here?” Natasha asks sharply.  
“I came to offer you a job,” Maria says.  
“A job?” asks Natasha, looking at Maria like she had lost her mind,” What do you mean? Why are you here? Why now? You haven’t talked to me in weeks.”  
“I’m trying to restart S.H.I.E.L.D. “  
“Why? We destroyed it for a reason.”  
“Yeah. We destroyed it because it was infested with Hydra. But S.H.I.E.L.D. as it was meant to be, helps people. Protects them. And it needs to be there. Since it fell there has been chaos. It wasn’t just our agents who were hurt. It was innocent civilians who were nearby, who had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And there's been nobody to help. The United States don’t want to get involved because S.H.I.E.L.D. is a political death sentence. So innocent people,including our agents are captured or dead-”  
“Or Hydra. But wow Hill, I didn’t know you did the whole goodness and justice thing. Been hanging around Cap too much I think.”  
“Very funny Romanoff, but please, I need your help.”  
“Why?”  
“Because you’re the best at what you do, and I can trust you.”  
“Great, I’m the best at killing people. Nice to know what you think of me.”  
“Natasha, you know that’s not what I mean.”  
“Then what do you mean?”  
“You’re a great spy. And when it comes down to it, you’re willing to fight for what is right.”  
“What are we planning on doing?”  
“Finding those still loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D., to its value. Rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. as Peggy Carter meant it to be. Not how Hydra made it.”  
“Okay, I’m in”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Natasha, are you sure this is a good idea?” Maria asks.The two of the are sitting on a roof in Uruguay, across the street from what they think is a Hydra base.  
“Yeah, it’ll be just like the old day,” Natasha mutters, “Too many people shooting at us as too few of us storm a building that we have no idea about the layout or how many people are in there. Sounds like fun.”  
“Natasha, that was you and Barton who did that,” Maria says shortly,”Not the two of us.”  
“There was that one time in London”  
“Doesn’t count, Nat. It was a desperate situation.”  
“And this isn’t?”  
“Not yet. We don’t have any confirmed prisoners.”  
“This was an active base, and where those signals were coming from. The video showed at least a dozen prisoners.” Natasha mutters,almost to herself.  
“Well I don’t like rushing into situations that I know nothing about.”  
As is on cue, a gang of Hydra agents burst out of the stairwell.  
“Well shit,” Natasha mutters before turning to attack the nearest agent.  
And then everything goes black.  
She wakes up to the noise of too many things beeping at once.  
“What was that?” She slurs, feeling somebody else’s hand in hers.  
“Nat, don’t ever do that again,” Maria says gently.  
“Do what?” Natasha asks, genuinely confused.  
“Get hurt,scare me like that. We thought you were going to die.” Maria’s voice shakes a little at that.  
“Sorry, but I can’t promise not to do it again. Kinda happens in this line of work you know.”  
“I know just please, be careful, take care of yourself.”  
“Fine. Maria, why do you even care?”  
“Nat, I love you so much I don’t know what I would do if you died.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Oh, I do too” Natasha drifts off to sleep holding Maria’s hand.


End file.
